“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

As with anything in life being focused when you’re trying to accomplish something is extremely important. Perhaps more important than anything else is your level of focus. Results will vary depending on your level of focus. I guarantee it, I’ve been there and I’ve done that.

Again, I’ll liken focus to swimming as it’s what I’m connected to the most and have been able to see astounding results in. Whether it’s a 5,000 yard workout for my sprinters or a 10,000 yard workout for my distance swimmers the last part of that practice is going to be an ass kicker. Especially only 3 or 4 weeks into the season. That being said I’m constantly telling them to focus even more in the final legs of practice. It’s then and there where going through the motions won’t cut it. It’s at the end where swimming sloppy is going to start breeding those bad habits. We often talk about being technique perfect more so towards the end of practice because of the fatigue factor. Some have had the mindset that the 5,000 yards will eventually be able to be done strong when they are in better shape. Sure it will but by then you’re doing 7,000 yards instead. All too often I see swimmers get in and go through the motions and call it a day. The great ones will get in, think about what they need to do, and they get it done with such a finesse and air of excellence about them that it’s second to none and it’s something the ordinary can only dream of.

What is the reasoning behind this? What makes someone a greater swimmer than the next person? I think we can agree that if we place two swimmers of equal technical ability next to each other they’ll pretty much stay together for sets or the race. However, if one of those swimmers has a greater mental edge and focus than the other I’ll guarantee it’s that swimmer that will win the race and kick ass in practice. It’s getting by the mental blocks in your head that allows you to become that great athlete, business person, etc. Easier said than done? Sure is. I’ll be the first to tell you that. However, once you get a grip on breaking those blocks the potential to become super focused is well within your grasp.

The Happy Place

For all intents and purposes we’re going to make this the start of every exercise we do. We all have this happy place within us that we goto when we’re having a hard time with life, a project, etc. I need you to get there. Once you get good at this it’ll take you seconds to get there. At the start it might take awhile for you to get there and that’s ok. This takes practice. Once in your happy place you’ve established a primary level of focus. This meaning you’ve been able to shut out distractions, noise, etc. Keep practicing and when you’ve achieved a really good level of focus keep on reading.

The Funnel

Sit down, relax, get to that happy place that we all have. You’ll then want to picture yourself at the top of a large black funnel. Step off the edge, and start spiraling down the funnel toward the hole at the bottom. On your way down you should be forgetting everything that’s been going on. Put aside for the time being, release the stress, let it go. When you get to the hole at the bottom go through it and on the other side you should be back in your happy place.

I’ve been using the funnel technique for a long time and it’s worked quite well for me. I do it behind the blocks before a race and I do it before diving head first into a project. It relaxes me and gives me that forward thinking vision I need to be able to succeed in whatever it is I am doing.

There’s a shark chasing me

I’m not kidding. When I’m swimming by myself and even when I am swimming with a group I imagine a shark chasing me through the deep end of the pool and I have to get to the shallow end as fast as I can. Call me crazy but it helps me out immensely. My twitter buddy Sarah Hudson actually mentioned to me that I should do it today and we had a fun conversation about how we both thought we were the only ones who did it. We’re not the only ones but it works. I promise you. If done correctly you can become so focused that you almost achieve that feeling of fight or flight that we’ve all felt before. Try it next time you’re in a pool see what happens. Runners can liken it to that feeling of someone chasing them.

There is a primary factor

Ever tried to focus while your stressed? It’s tough or not even attainable at all. I know for me focusing while I am stressed is impossible. How does one combat this? You need to be able to relax. Often times I meditate. I close my eyes, I go on a journey in mind. I wander to my happy place. On the way I do my best to drop whatever it is that is stressing me on the way. That way when I’m in my happy place it’s not soiled by any negative thoughts.

Another way is to just close your eyes and imagine the waves just rolling over you, washing away every care in the world. When the waves recede your left there with nothing but you, your heart and your mind.

The key here is to make sure once you do get to this relaxed state you don’t starting thinking about those stressors again.

The bottom line

Being focused in anything whether it’s sport, work or whatever else it is you do can lead you to much higher levels of achievement. A superior level of focus is absolutely attainable but you need to be willing to work towards it just like everything else in life. It’s not going to come easy and sometimes can get extremely emotional. I’ve seen swimmers break down while doing their relaxation. It’s ok, get it out. The more you get out during your relaxation or focus time the better off you will be when you come out on the other side.

Coaching puts things in a whole new perspective for some people. Some people realize that it’s not for them right away. Sure you might be great at your chosen sport but that doesn’t always mean you’d be a great coach. There are a ton of different ways to coach athletes and you’ll see this during your favourite sport seasons. Some coaches get involved with their athletes personally, whereas other coaches don’t want to have anything to do with life outside of the sport. The latter seems (at least to me) somewhat disconnected and detached where the former seems much more fitting of a coach of an elite athlete.

Take Michael Phelps for example. His coach Bob Bowman was heavily involved in his life and still is. Why? Because as he puts it at the time that’s what Michael needed. Bob filled that void and gap for Michael and it shows. Not only do I look up to Phelps as an athlete but I look up to Bowman as a model for coaching.

I’d like to think when it comes to coaching the swimmers I have on my club I am invested in each and everyone of them. Is it always equal? No. And I’ll be the first to tell you that. I want to give back to them the time they put in. I want to be there for them for whatever they need. The last thing any coach wants is a swimmer who is having a crummy day to jump in the pool and do some trash yardage. It doesn’t do anyone any good. This is why I have an open door policy. My swimmers know where I am at any given time during the week. They have a variety of ways to reach me if they need to. Some people might shun this and say “you need some time for yourself.” I sure do and I work that in. It’s what keeps me sane. I’m extremely involved as a coach, but I’m only involved as much as the swimmer wants me to be. I try not to ask the prying questions, I’d rather them come to me and ask or tell me what’s going on.

This style of coaching leaves the coach emotionally vulnerable and suseptible to stress and other related symptoms quite easily. This is something that can be overcome with experience and time. The thing to remember is that everything gets better over time. What you don’t want to do after a possible emotionally taxing week is to back off or not be there 100% for your athlete. If you make the decision to be open and be the person who listens and tries to help you need to be in it all the way. There is no half way with this style.

I’ve had coaches who were cold and didn’t care about what was going on. All they cared about was whether or not I got in that day and did the 10,000 yards asked of me. This was extremely detrimental to my psyche and more often than not was the catalyst for me getting discouraged.

Am I an expert? No. This is merely an opinion derived from personal experience. But this can be carried over to everyday life, your job, etc. Gauging how involved you are with your employees, coworkers, family even will drastically change your outlook on your family, job & life.

Have you ever even given a thought to how involved you are emotionally, mentally and physically in everything you do?

As many of you already know I coach a swim team here in Rhode Island. It’s such a fulfilling experience for me and it’s something I am completely comfortable with doing the rest of my life. There are so many dynamics to take into consideration when working with a team. Sure, you’ll have your stars and the swimmers who no matter how hard they try just can’t get past the wall they’re up against. The role of a coach is to keep all of the groups on the team satisfied without trying to come off as having favourites. Obviously every coach is going to have his favourite swimmer(s), it comes with the territory and we have to deal with it.

I’d like to think that I am fair across the board with my swimmers. I push the ones that need it and I make sure the ones that have a great work ethic already stay excited and motivated. However, I’ve noticed lately that I’ve had a couple swimmers jump in the water and swim angry. They’re upset for some reason or another, stressed over something, etc. The last thing I want them to do is swim angry, stressed, upset or what ever other negative emotion is flowing through them. This breeds bad habits and it’s something we definitely don’t want or need. It can also snowball into something worse. Such as a swimmer taking their goggles off, getting out of the water and calling it a day. I think there is a certain level of a personal relationship a coach should have with his/her swimmers. A coach should be there for their swimmers for whatever they need. Outside advice, a shoulder to lean on, someone to vent to, etc. The majority of the time after a swimmer who is stressed or angry talks with me about what’s going on they get back in the water and kick some ass. They don’t even need to give me the details, we can just talk about whatever. My response is always the same:

“Worry about the stuff you can change and stop worrying about the stuff you can’t.”

It does you nor anyone around you any good if you’re stressing about something out of your control. Now someone might say to me “that might work for you”. Sure it works for me. I don’t ever worry about the stuff out of my control. Why? Because I can’t do a damn thing about it. I worry about the stuff I can change and I make sure I make that change so it doesn’t happen again.

You can take this example into real life, your job, anywhere. We’d be much better off as humans if we let things roll off of us. Many of the stressful events in our lives are uncontrollable. Everyone deals in their own way and many deal in ways that are borderline abusive to themselves. This is upsetting and something I hate to see happen.

If you take one thing from this post it’s the quote above. Start making a conscience effort to change the things you can and let the things you can’t roll off your shoulders. You can’t do anything about it so why even try or stress yourself out trying to.

All the best.